Eight years after Disney delighted audiences and families Moana, Auli’i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson bring their beloved cartoon characters back to the oceans of Polynesia.

Moana 2 revisits Cravalho’s title character three years after the events of the original. Called by her pioneering ancestors to venture even further into the ocean, Moana welcomes a new cast of characters – including shipbuilding expert Loto (Rose Matafeo), tapestry and history expert Moni (Hualā Chung), and farmer Kele (David Fane). ) – searching for a lost island called Motufetū.

Heihei the chicken – a clumsy, wide-eyed creature with a penchant for choking on food at inopportune moments – joins another seafaring adventure, and this time Pua the pig is brought aboard too.

Moana, who soon meets again with the demigod Maui (Johnson, 52) on the way to saving her island, once again struggles between her strong sense of adventure and duty to her family and the island, with the fear that she will not her little sister Simea (Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda), who is shown alongside other children on the island who idolize Moana as a heroine.

Audiences may notice a change in the direction of the songwriting. Tony and Grammy-winning songwriter Lin Manuel-Miranda wrote songs for the original film, including the most popular tracks “How Far I’ll Go” and “You’re Welcome,” but Disney brought in Grammy winners Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear Boat, best known for her award in 2021 Unofficial Bridgerton Musical album, for the sequel.

Some numbers in the new film lack the unique oomph that Miranda, 44, brings to his songs, but Barlow and Bear’s website identifies the duo as the first female songwriting duo and the youngest duo to write for a Disney feature film composed.

It’s an achievement worthy of a theatrical release, considering what Disney originally planned Moana 2 as a television series and reworked it into a feature film at CEO Bob Iger’s request.

The world that Disney has built around its popular sailor-not-a-princess lacks the musical direction and lyricism that Miranda developed for the original 2016 installment, but her sense of wonder for a beautifully rendered depiction of the ocean and its islands as well the humor that Miranda provides makes Johnson and his supporting cast MoanaThe sequel is just as worthy for families as the first film.

Moana 2 hits theaters on November 27th.